Viriathus
Encyclopedia
Viriathus (died 138 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people
that resisted Roman
expansion into the regions of Western Hispania
(as the Romans would call it), where the Roman province
of Lusitania
would be established (in the areas comprising most of Portugal
, Extremadura
and south of the Douro
river in Spain
). Viriathus led the Lusitanians to several victories over the Romans between 147 BC and 139 BC before he was betrayed to the Romans and killed. Of him, Theodor Mommsen
said "It seemed as if, in that thoroughly prosaic age, one of the Homeric heroes had reappeared."
Viri may come from:
The Celtiberian elite called themselves uiros ueramos meaning the 'highest man' and the Latin equivalent would be summus vir.
According to the historian Schulten
Viriathus had a Celtic name.
Little is known about Viriathus. The only reference to the location of his native tribe was made by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
who claims he was from the Lusitanian tribes of the ocean side.
He belonged to the class of warriors, the occupation of the minority ruling elites. He was known to the Romans as the dux
of the Lusitanian army, as the adsertor (protector) of Hispania, or as an imperator
, probably of the confederated Lusitanian and Celtiberian
tribes.
Livy
described him as a shepherd who became a hunter, then a soldier, thus following the path of most young warriors, the iuventus, who devoted themselves to cattle raiding, hunting and war.
According to Appian
, Viriathus was one of the few who escaped when Galba
, the Roman consul
, massacred the flos iuventutis, the flower of the young Lusitanian warriors, in 150 BC.
Two years after the massacre, in 148 BC, Viriathus became the leader of a Lusitanian army.
Viriathus was thought by some to have a very obscure origin, although Diodorus Siculus
also says that Viriathus "approved himself to be a prince" and that he said he was "lord and owner of all". His family was unknown to the Romans who were familiar with the native aristocratic warrior society.
His personality and his physical and intellectual abilities as well as his skills as a warrior were described by several authors. He was a man of great physical strength, probably in the very prime of life, an excellent strategist owner of a brilliant mind. Some authors claim that the ancient authors described Viriathus with the precise features of a Celtic king.
He was described as a man who followed the principles of honesty and fair dealing and was acknowledged for being exact and faithful to his word on the treaties and leagues he made. Livy gives him the title of vir duxque magnus with the implied qualities that were nothing more than the ideals of the ancient virtues.
A more modern current claims Viriathus belonged to an aristocratic Lusitanian clan who were owners of cattle. For Cassius Dio, he did not pursue power or wealth, but carried on the war for the sake of military glory. His aims could then be compared to pure Roman aristocratic ideals of that time: to serve and gain military glory and honor. Viriathus did not fight for war spoils or material gain, like common soldiers.
The Lusitanians honored Viriathus as their Benefactor, (Greek: euergetes), and Savior (Greek: soter
), typically Hellenistic honorifics used by kings like the Ptolemies
.
Some authors defend he probably was from the Herminius Mons (Serra da Estrela) - in the heart of Lusitania, (in central Portugal) or Beira Alta
region.
Most of his life and his war against the Romans are part of legend and Viriathus is considered the earliest Portuguese national hero
, given the fact that he was the leader of the confederate tribes of Iberia who resisted Rome. The historian Appianus of Alexandria
in his book about Iberia (in the section Historia Romana, Roman History), commented that Viriathus "killed numerous Romans and showed great skill".
, in his epic poem entitled Punica, mentions a former Viriathus who would have been a contemporary of Hannibal. He is referenced as primo Viriathus in aeuo, and was a leader of the Gallaeci and of the Lusitanians.
The historical Viriathus would be the one who received the title of regnator Hiberae magnanimus terrae, the "most magnanimous king of the Iberian land".
started its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
. The Roman conquest of Iberia began during the Second Punic War
, when the senate sent an army to Iberia to block Carthaginian
reinforcements from helping Hannibal in the Italian Peninsula
. This began Roman involvement in 250 years of subsequent fighting throughout the Iberia resulting in its eventual conquest in 19 BC with the end of the Cantabrian Wars
. The Lusitanian War
is one of the most well documented episodes of the conquest. However Rome's dominion of Iberia met with much opposition. In 197 BC, Rome divided south eastern coast of Iberia into two provinces, Hispania Citerior
and Hispania Ulterior
, and two elected praetor
s were assigned to command the legions
. Like in many other tribes of Iberia, the inhabitants of the Lusitanian castros, or citanias, would have been granted peregrina
stipendiaria. but remaining an autonomous (Greek: αὐτονόμων) country through treaties (foedus).
Lusitania's rich land was praised by ancient authors. Polybius
in his Histories "speaking of the natural wealth of Lusitania [...], tells us that owing to the favorable climate both men and animals are very prolific, and the land is constantly productive."
The Romans charged the native tribes with heavy taxes: a fixed vectigal or land-tax, the tributum and a certain quantity of cereals. Taxes were not the only source of income, mine exploitation and peace treaties were a source of denarius
as well as war spoils and war prisoners that were sold as slaves. The indigenous towns had to deliver their own treasures to the Romans, which left them only with the yearly earnings to pay the taxes. Between 209 and 169 BC, the Roman army collected 4 tons of gold and 800 tons of silver looting the native tribes of the Iberian peninsula. The governors extorted as much as they could from the tribes. In 174 BC, when Publius Furius Philus was accused of paying very little for the cereals that Iberia was compelled to deliver to Rome, Cato
defended the interests of the native tribes. The exploitation and extortion reached such an extreme degree in the provinces that Rome had to create a special tribunal and laws, like the Lex Calpurnia
created in 149 BC. Also as part of the payment, it was required a certain number of men to serve in the Roman army
.
This period was marked by a number of broken treaties either by the Roman generals, or their senate, that would not ratify the treaties, or by the native people.
In 152 BC the Lusitanians made a peace agreement with Marcus Atilius, after he conquered Oxthracae, Lusitania's biggest city. In the Roman law
, peregrini dediticii
was the designation given to the peoples who had surrendered themselves after taking up arms against the Romans. The terms offered were such, that as soon as Atilius returned to Rome, they rebelled and broke the treaty. Then they attacked the tribes that were Roman subjects and had sided with the Romans helping to attack and plunder the Lusitanian towns. Possibly the Lusitanians recovered some of the booty the Romans divided with those tribes.
In 151 BC the Celtiberians who had become Roman allies, fearing the revenge of the rebels who considered them traitors, asked the Romans to punish the rebellious tribes who had broken out into war and that the legions
remained in Iberia to protect them.
to Hispania Ulterior
, Servius Sulpicius Galba
commanded the Roman troops
in Iberia circa 150 BC at the same time Lucius Licinius Lucullus
was also appointed Governor of the Hispania Citerior
and commander of an army. In the year 151 BC, Lucullus "being greedy of fame and needing money", made a peace treaty with the Caucaei, of the Vaccaei tribe, after which he ordered to kill all the adult males of which, it is said, only a few out of 20,000 escaped.
Servius Sulpicius Galba joined forces with Lucius Licinius Lucullus and together started to depopulate Lusitania. While Lucullus invaded the country from the east, Galba attacked it from the south. Unable to sustain a war in two fronts, the Lusitanian troops suffered several losses in engagements with the Romans. Fearing a long siege
and the destruction the Roman siege engines
caused in their towns, the Lusitanians sent an embassy to Galba to negotiate a peace treaty, although for the Romans it would be perceived as the Deditio in dicionem , the surrender. The Lusitanians hoped they could at least renew the former treaty made with Atilius. Galba received the Lusitanian embassy politely, and a peace treaty was agreed on the terms proposed by him. He commanded them to leave their homes and remain in an open country. The Lusitanians probably lost their city and possessions and their land would have become Ager Publicus. The conquest of a territory, unless it had been given special conditions, could imply the acquisition, by the Romans, of the conquered territory and all that it contained.
The treaty turned out to be a trap, like the one Lucullus had prepared for the Caucaei. When the unarmed Lusitanians, among them Viriathus, were gathered together by Galba to hand over their weapons and be split into three groups (two of the points of the treaty that had been negotiated) and allocated to new lands, the trap was sprung. With the promise they would be given new lands they waited unaware while Galba's army surrounded
them with a ditch
, to prevent them from escaping. Afterwards, Roman soldiers were sent in and began to massacre all the males of military age. The survivors are said to have been sold into slavery in Gaul
.
The relocation of an entire tribe, to slaughter or to reduce them to the status of slaves were some of the types of punishment inflicted to the native population who took part in revolts.
Galba distributed a little of the plunder to the army and a little to his friends, the native tribes that sided with him, and kept the rest. This incited a massive rebellion, with the entire Lusitanian tribe mustering as they waged war for 3 years against Rome, but met with many failures.
Three Years after the Massacre, the massive rebellion was nearly at defeat until Viriathus appeared and offered himself as leader. Through understanding of Roman military methods he saved the rebel Lusitanians through a simple, though clever escape plan. Viriathus became the leader of Lusitanians and caused much grief to the Romans as a result of the past massacre of his people.
, when the fighting involved small groups of combatants and the use of guerrilla tactics
. For many authors Viriathus is seen as the model of the guerrilla fighter.
Nothing is known about Viriathus until his first feat of war in 149 BC. He was with an army of ten thousand men that invaded southern Turdetani
a.
Rome sent the praetor Caius Vetilius to fight the rebellion. He attacked a group of Lusitanian warriors who were out foraging, and after killing several of them, the survivors took refuge in a place that was surrounded by the Roman army. They were about to make a new agreement with the Romans when Viriathus, mistrusting the Romans, proposed an escape plan. The Lusitanians inflamed by his speech made him their new commander. His first act was to rescue the currently trapped resisting Lusitanians whom he took over command of. First by lining up for battle with the Romans, then scattering the army as they charged. As each way broke apart and fled in different directions to meet up at a later location, Viriathus with 1,000 chosen men held the army of 10,000 Romans in check by being in a position to attack. Once the rest of the army had fled, he and the thousand men escaped as well. Having effectively saved all of the Lusitanians soldiers immediately fortified the loyalty of the people around Viriathus.
Viriathus organized an attack against Caius Vetilius in Tribola. Since the Romans were better armed, he organized guerrilla tactics and sprung imaginative ambushes. Charging with iron spears, tridents and roars, the Lusitanians defeated Vetilius by killing 4,000 out of 10,000 Troops including Vetilius himself. As a response, the Celtiberians were hired to attack the Lusitanians, but were destroyed. After that incident, the Lusitanians clashed with the armies of Gaius Plautius, Claudius Unimanus and Gaius Negidius, all of whom were defeated. During this period Viriathus inspired and convinced the Numantine
and some Gauls to rebel against Roman rule.
To complete the subjugation of Lusitania, Rome sent Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
, with 15,000 soldier
s and 2,000 cavalry
to strengthen Gaius Laelius Sapiens
who was a personal friend of Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
. The Romans lost most of these reinforcements in Ossuma. When Quintus Fabius risked combat again, he was totally defeated near what is today the city of Beja in Alentejo. This defeat gave the Lusitanians access to today's Spanish territory, modern Granada
and Murcia
. The results of Viriathus's effects as well as that of the Numantine War
caused many problems in Rome, including a drop in Legion recruitment rates being the most notable.
Learning of these events, Rome sent one of its best generals, Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, to Iberia. Near Sierra Morena
, the Romans fell into a Lusitanian ambush. Viriathus did not harm the Romans and let the soldiers and Servilianus go. Servilianus made a peace term that recognized the Lusitanian rule over the land they conquered.
and Viriathus was declared "amicus populi Romani", , an ally of the Roman people. However, the peace brought by the treaty displeased Quintus Servilius Caepio, who got himself appointed successor of his brother, Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, in the command of the army and administration of affairs in Iberia. In his reports to the Roman Senate he sustained that the treaty was in the highest degree dishonorable to Rome. Livy
seemed to have a different opinion as he said it was a stain in Servilianus' military career but comments that the treaty was, aequis, fair. The senate authorized Q. Servilius Caepio, on his request, to distress Viriathus as long as it was done secretly. The treaty was in effect for one year. During that time Q. Servilius Caepio harassed Viriathus and kept making pressure with his reports until he was authorized to publicly declare war.
, who had been sent by Viriathus as an embassy to establish peace (Appian
). These ambassadors returned to their camp and killed Viriathus while he was sleeping. Eutropius claims that when Viriathus' assassins asked Q. Servilius Caepio for their payment he answered that "it was never pleasing to the Romans, that a general should be killed by his own soldiers.", or in another version more common in modern Portugal
and Spain
, "Rome does not pay traitors who kill their chief". Quintus Servilius Caepio was refused his Triumph
by the Senate
.
After the death of Viriathus, the Lusitanians kept fighting under the leadership of Tantalus (Greek: Τάνταλος).
Laenas would finally give the Lusitanians the land they originally had asked for before the massacre. Nevertheless total pacification of Lusitania was only achieved under Augustus
. Under Roman rule
, Lusitania and its people gradually acquired Roman culture and language
.
Viriathus stands as the most successful leader in Iberia that ever opposed the Roman conquest. During the course of his campaigns he was only defeated in battle against the Romans once, and from a military standpoint can be said to have been one of the most successful generals to ever have opposed Rome's expansion anywhere in the world. Ultimately even the Romans recognized that it was more prudent to use treachery rather than open confrontation to defeat the Lusitanian uprising. Some fifty years later, the renegade Roman general, Quintus Sertorius
, at the head of another insurrection in Iberia
, would meet a similar fate.
Lusitanians
The Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...
that resisted Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
expansion into the regions of Western Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
(as the Romans would call it), where the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
would be established (in the areas comprising most of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
and south of the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
river in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). Viriathus led the Lusitanians to several victories over the Romans between 147 BC and 139 BC before he was betrayed to the Romans and killed. Of him, Theodor Mommsen
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...
said "It seemed as if, in that thoroughly prosaic age, one of the Homeric heroes had reappeared."
Etymology
There are several possible etymologies for the name Viriathus. The name can be composed of two elements: Viri and Athus.Viri may come from:
- the Indo-EuropeanIndo-European languagesThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
rootProto-Indo-European rootThe roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language are basic parts of words that carry a lexical meaning, so-called morphemes. PIE roots always have verbal meaning like "to eat" or "to run", as opposed to nouns , adjectives , or other parts of speech. Roots never occur alone in the language...
*uiros, "man", relating to strength and virility; - the CelticCeltic languagesThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
*uiro- 'man'; and the older forms viros, viri, viro, viron from which derived the Old Irish word for man, fir; - from *uei-, as in the viriae or CeltiberianCeltiberian languageCeltiberian is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula lyingbetween the headwaters of the Duero, Tajo, Júcar and Turia rivers and the Ebro river...
"twisted armbands" used by warriors (PlinyPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
XXIII, 39); - the LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
viri meaning man, hero, person of courage, honor, and nobility.
The Celtiberian elite called themselves uiros ueramos meaning the 'highest man' and the Latin equivalent would be summus vir.
According to the historian Schulten
Adolf Schulten
Adolf Schulten was a German historian and archaeologist.Schulten was born in Elberfeld, Rhine Province, and received a Doctorate in Geology from the University of Bonn in 1892. He studied in Italy, Africa and Greece with support from the Institute of Archaeology...
Viriathus had a Celtic name.
Viriathus' life
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
who claims he was from the Lusitanian tribes of the ocean side.
He belonged to the class of warriors, the occupation of the minority ruling elites. He was known to the Romans as the dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
of the Lusitanian army, as the adsertor (protector) of Hispania, or as an imperator
Imperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
, probably of the confederated Lusitanian and Celtiberian
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
tribes.
Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
described him as a shepherd who became a hunter, then a soldier, thus following the path of most young warriors, the iuventus, who devoted themselves to cattle raiding, hunting and war.
According to Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
, Viriathus was one of the few who escaped when Galba
Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 144 BC)
Servius Sulpicius Galba was a consul of Rome in 144 BC.He served as tribune of the soldiers in the second legion in Macedonia, under Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, to whom he was personally hostile...
, the Roman consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
, massacred the flos iuventutis, the flower of the young Lusitanian warriors, in 150 BC.
Two years after the massacre, in 148 BC, Viriathus became the leader of a Lusitanian army.
Viriathus was thought by some to have a very obscure origin, although Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
also says that Viriathus "approved himself to be a prince" and that he said he was "lord and owner of all". His family was unknown to the Romans who were familiar with the native aristocratic warrior society.
His personality and his physical and intellectual abilities as well as his skills as a warrior were described by several authors. He was a man of great physical strength, probably in the very prime of life, an excellent strategist owner of a brilliant mind. Some authors claim that the ancient authors described Viriathus with the precise features of a Celtic king.
He was described as a man who followed the principles of honesty and fair dealing and was acknowledged for being exact and faithful to his word on the treaties and leagues he made. Livy gives him the title of vir duxque magnus with the implied qualities that were nothing more than the ideals of the ancient virtues.
A more modern current claims Viriathus belonged to an aristocratic Lusitanian clan who were owners of cattle. For Cassius Dio, he did not pursue power or wealth, but carried on the war for the sake of military glory. His aims could then be compared to pure Roman aristocratic ideals of that time: to serve and gain military glory and honor. Viriathus did not fight for war spoils or material gain, like common soldiers.
The Lusitanians honored Viriathus as their Benefactor, (Greek: euergetes), and Savior (Greek: soter
Soter
Soter derives from the Greek epithet , meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira...
), typically Hellenistic honorifics used by kings like the Ptolemies
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
.
Some authors defend he probably was from the Herminius Mons (Serra da Estrela) - in the heart of Lusitania, (in central Portugal) or Beira Alta
Beira Alta (region)
Beira Alta was one of the 13 regions of continental Portugal identified by geographer Amorim Girão, in a study published between 1927 and 1930.With Beira Trasmontana it became Beira Alta Province....
region.
Most of his life and his war against the Romans are part of legend and Viriathus is considered the earliest Portuguese national hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
, given the fact that he was the leader of the confederate tribes of Iberia who resisted Rome. The historian Appianus of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in his book about Iberia (in the section Historia Romana, Roman History), commented that Viriathus "killed numerous Romans and showed great skill".
The Viriathus of Silius Italicus
It has been argued that Silius ItalicusSilius Italicus
Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus , was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century CE,...
, in his epic poem entitled Punica, mentions a former Viriathus who would have been a contemporary of Hannibal. He is referenced as primo Viriathus in aeuo, and was a leader of the Gallaeci and of the Lusitanians.
The historical Viriathus would be the one who received the title of regnator Hiberae magnanimus terrae, the "most magnanimous king of the Iberian land".
Conquest of Lusitania by Rome
In the 3rd century BC, RomeRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
started its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. The Roman conquest of Iberia began during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
, when the senate sent an army to Iberia to block Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
reinforcements from helping Hannibal in the Italian Peninsula
Italian Peninsula
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...
. This began Roman involvement in 250 years of subsequent fighting throughout the Iberia resulting in its eventual conquest in 19 BC with the end of the Cantabrian Wars
Cantabrian Wars
The Cantabrian Wars occurred during the Roman conquest of the modern provinces of Cantabria, Asturias and León, against the Asturs and the Cantabri. They were the final stage of the conquest of Hispania.-Antecedents:...
. The Lusitanian War
Lusitanian War
The Lusitanian War, called the Purinos Polemos , was a war of resistance fought between the advancing legions of the Roman Republic and the Lusitani tribes of Hispania Ulterior from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitani revolted on two separate occasions and were pacified...
is one of the most well documented episodes of the conquest. However Rome's dominion of Iberia met with much opposition. In 197 BC, Rome divided south eastern coast of Iberia into two provinces, Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
and Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
, and two elected praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
s were assigned to command the legions
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
. Like in many other tribes of Iberia, the inhabitants of the Lusitanian castros, or citanias, would have been granted peregrina
Peregrinus (Roman)
Peregrinus was the term used during the early Roman empire, from 30 BC to 212 AD, to denote a free provincial subject of the Empire who was not a Roman citizen. Peregrini constituted the vast majority of the Empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD...
stipendiaria. but remaining an autonomous (Greek: αὐτονόμων) country through treaties (foedus).
Lusitania's rich land was praised by ancient authors. Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
in his Histories "speaking of the natural wealth of Lusitania [...], tells us that owing to the favorable climate both men and animals are very prolific, and the land is constantly productive."
The Romans charged the native tribes with heavy taxes: a fixed vectigal or land-tax, the tributum and a certain quantity of cereals. Taxes were not the only source of income, mine exploitation and peace treaties were a source of denarius
Denarius
In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...
as well as war spoils and war prisoners that were sold as slaves. The indigenous towns had to deliver their own treasures to the Romans, which left them only with the yearly earnings to pay the taxes. Between 209 and 169 BC, the Roman army collected 4 tons of gold and 800 tons of silver looting the native tribes of the Iberian peninsula. The governors extorted as much as they could from the tribes. In 174 BC, when Publius Furius Philus was accused of paying very little for the cereals that Iberia was compelled to deliver to Rome, Cato
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
defended the interests of the native tribes. The exploitation and extortion reached such an extreme degree in the provinces that Rome had to create a special tribunal and laws, like the Lex Calpurnia
Lex Calpurnia
Lex Calpurnia was a law established in 149 BC by Tribune Lucius Calpurnius Piso. According to this law, a permanent court with a praetor who observed provincial governors has been established. The main reason was the increasing extortion in provinces...
created in 149 BC. Also as part of the payment, it was required a certain number of men to serve in the Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
.
Revolts
The Lusitanians revolted first in 194 BC against the Romans. Iberia was divided between the tribes that supported the Roman rule and the tribes that revolted against the Roman rule, as they had been divided before by those who supported the Carthaginian or the Romans.This period was marked by a number of broken treaties either by the Roman generals, or their senate, that would not ratify the treaties, or by the native people.
In 152 BC the Lusitanians made a peace agreement with Marcus Atilius, after he conquered Oxthracae, Lusitania's biggest city. In the Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, peregrini dediticii
Peregrinus (Roman)
Peregrinus was the term used during the early Roman empire, from 30 BC to 212 AD, to denote a free provincial subject of the Empire who was not a Roman citizen. Peregrini constituted the vast majority of the Empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD...
was the designation given to the peoples who had surrendered themselves after taking up arms against the Romans. The terms offered were such, that as soon as Atilius returned to Rome, they rebelled and broke the treaty. Then they attacked the tribes that were Roman subjects and had sided with the Romans helping to attack and plunder the Lusitanian towns. Possibly the Lusitanians recovered some of the booty the Romans divided with those tribes.
In 151 BC the Celtiberians who had become Roman allies, fearing the revenge of the rebels who considered them traitors, asked the Romans to punish the rebellious tribes who had broken out into war and that the legions
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
remained in Iberia to protect them.
Massacre of the Lusitanians
The praetorPraetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
to Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
, Servius Sulpicius Galba
Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 144 BC)
Servius Sulpicius Galba was a consul of Rome in 144 BC.He served as tribune of the soldiers in the second legion in Macedonia, under Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, to whom he was personally hostile...
commanded the Roman troops
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
in Iberia circa 150 BC at the same time Lucius Licinius Lucullus
Lucius Licinius Lucullus
This article is on the Consul of 151 BC. For the descendent see Lucullus, and for others of this name see Licinia .Lucius Licinius Lucullus was a novus homo who became Consul in 151 BC. He was imprisoned by the Tribunes for attempting to enforce a troop levy too harshly...
was also appointed Governor of the Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
and commander of an army. In the year 151 BC, Lucullus "being greedy of fame and needing money", made a peace treaty with the Caucaei, of the Vaccaei tribe, after which he ordered to kill all the adult males of which, it is said, only a few out of 20,000 escaped.
Servius Sulpicius Galba joined forces with Lucius Licinius Lucullus and together started to depopulate Lusitania. While Lucullus invaded the country from the east, Galba attacked it from the south. Unable to sustain a war in two fronts, the Lusitanian troops suffered several losses in engagements with the Romans. Fearing a long siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
and the destruction the Roman siege engines
Roman siege engines
Roman siege engines were, for the most part, adapted from Hellenistic siege technology. Relatively small efforts were made to develop the technology; however, the Romans brought an unrelentingly aggressive style to siege warfare that brought them repeated success...
caused in their towns, the Lusitanians sent an embassy to Galba to negotiate a peace treaty, although for the Romans it would be perceived as the Deditio in dicionem , the surrender. The Lusitanians hoped they could at least renew the former treaty made with Atilius. Galba received the Lusitanian embassy politely, and a peace treaty was agreed on the terms proposed by him. He commanded them to leave their homes and remain in an open country. The Lusitanians probably lost their city and possessions and their land would have become Ager Publicus. The conquest of a territory, unless it had been given special conditions, could imply the acquisition, by the Romans, of the conquered territory and all that it contained.
The treaty turned out to be a trap, like the one Lucullus had prepared for the Caucaei. When the unarmed Lusitanians, among them Viriathus, were gathered together by Galba to hand over their weapons and be split into three groups (two of the points of the treaty that had been negotiated) and allocated to new lands, the trap was sprung. With the promise they would be given new lands they waited unaware while Galba's army surrounded
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...
them with a ditch
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...
, to prevent them from escaping. Afterwards, Roman soldiers were sent in and began to massacre all the males of military age. The survivors are said to have been sold into slavery in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
.
The relocation of an entire tribe, to slaughter or to reduce them to the status of slaves were some of the types of punishment inflicted to the native population who took part in revolts.
Galba distributed a little of the plunder to the army and a little to his friends, the native tribes that sided with him, and kept the rest. This incited a massive rebellion, with the entire Lusitanian tribe mustering as they waged war for 3 years against Rome, but met with many failures.
Three Years after the Massacre, the massive rebellion was nearly at defeat until Viriathus appeared and offered himself as leader. Through understanding of Roman military methods he saved the rebel Lusitanians through a simple, though clever escape plan. Viriathus became the leader of Lusitanians and caused much grief to the Romans as a result of the past massacre of his people.
The "War of Fire"
The war with Viriathus was called "War of Fire" by the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis. Two types of war were carried on by Viriathus, bellum, when he used a regular army, and latrociniumLatrocinium
Latrocinium which meant primarily a mercenary, or hired soldier, had the same meaning as miles. Latrocinium applied to a war that was not preceded by a declaration of war under the Roman laws; it was also applied to the guerrilla warfare used by the enemies of Rome...
, when the fighting involved small groups of combatants and the use of guerrilla tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
. For many authors Viriathus is seen as the model of the guerrilla fighter.
Nothing is known about Viriathus until his first feat of war in 149 BC. He was with an army of ten thousand men that invaded southern Turdetani
Turdetani
The Turdetani were ancient people of the Iberian peninsula , living in the valley of the Guadalquivir in what was to become the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica...
a.
Rome sent the praetor Caius Vetilius to fight the rebellion. He attacked a group of Lusitanian warriors who were out foraging, and after killing several of them, the survivors took refuge in a place that was surrounded by the Roman army. They were about to make a new agreement with the Romans when Viriathus, mistrusting the Romans, proposed an escape plan. The Lusitanians inflamed by his speech made him their new commander. His first act was to rescue the currently trapped resisting Lusitanians whom he took over command of. First by lining up for battle with the Romans, then scattering the army as they charged. As each way broke apart and fled in different directions to meet up at a later location, Viriathus with 1,000 chosen men held the army of 10,000 Romans in check by being in a position to attack. Once the rest of the army had fled, he and the thousand men escaped as well. Having effectively saved all of the Lusitanians soldiers immediately fortified the loyalty of the people around Viriathus.
Viriathus organized an attack against Caius Vetilius in Tribola. Since the Romans were better armed, he organized guerrilla tactics and sprung imaginative ambushes. Charging with iron spears, tridents and roars, the Lusitanians defeated Vetilius by killing 4,000 out of 10,000 Troops including Vetilius himself. As a response, the Celtiberians were hired to attack the Lusitanians, but were destroyed. After that incident, the Lusitanians clashed with the armies of Gaius Plautius, Claudius Unimanus and Gaius Negidius, all of whom were defeated. During this period Viriathus inspired and convinced the Numantine
Numantia
Numantia is the name of an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located 7 km north of the city of Soria, on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the municipality of Garray....
and some Gauls to rebel against Roman rule.
To complete the subjugation of Lusitania, Rome sent Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul .Fabius was by adoption a member of the patrician gens Fabia, but by birth he was the eldest son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Papiria Masonis and the elder brother of Scipio Aemilianus...
, with 15,000 soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s and 2,000 cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
to strengthen Gaius Laelius Sapiens
Gaius Laelius Sapiens
Gaius Laelius G.f. Sapiens , was a Roman statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus . He was consul of 140 BC, elected with the help of his friend, by then censor, after failing to be elected in 141 BC. Gaius Laelius G.f...
who was a personal friend of Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus , also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and politician of the ancient Roman Republic...
. The Romans lost most of these reinforcements in Ossuma. When Quintus Fabius risked combat again, he was totally defeated near what is today the city of Beja in Alentejo. This defeat gave the Lusitanians access to today's Spanish territory, modern Granada
Granada (province)
Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea . Its capital city is also called Granada.The province covers an area of 12,635 km²...
and Murcia
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....
. The results of Viriathus's effects as well as that of the Numantine War
Numantine War
The Numantine War was the last conflict of the Celtiberian Wars fought by the Romans to subdue those people along the Ebro. It was a twenty year long conflict between the Celtiberian tribes of Hispania Citerior and the Roman government. It began in 154 BC as a revolt of the Celtiberians of...
caused many problems in Rome, including a drop in Legion recruitment rates being the most notable.
Learning of these events, Rome sent one of its best generals, Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, to Iberia. Near Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
, the Romans fell into a Lusitanian ambush. Viriathus did not harm the Romans and let the soldiers and Servilianus go. Servilianus made a peace term that recognized the Lusitanian rule over the land they conquered.
The treaty
This agreement was ratified by the Roman SenateRoman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and Viriathus was declared "amicus populi Romani", , an ally of the Roman people. However, the peace brought by the treaty displeased Quintus Servilius Caepio, who got himself appointed successor of his brother, Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, in the command of the army and administration of affairs in Iberia. In his reports to the Roman Senate he sustained that the treaty was in the highest degree dishonorable to Rome. Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
seemed to have a different opinion as he said it was a stain in Servilianus' military career but comments that the treaty was, aequis, fair. The senate authorized Q. Servilius Caepio, on his request, to distress Viriathus as long as it was done secretly. The treaty was in effect for one year. During that time Q. Servilius Caepio harassed Viriathus and kept making pressure with his reports until he was authorized to publicly declare war.
Death
Knowing that the Lusitanian resistance was largely due to Viriathus' leadership, Quintus Servilius Caepio bribed Audax, Ditalcus and MinurusAudax, Ditalcus and Minurus
Audax, Ditalcus and Minurus were the supposed assassins of the Lusitanian leader Viriathus.In 139 BC, after a long war against the Romans, Viriathus was killed in his sleep by Audax , Ditalcus and Minurus , who had been sent as emissaries to the Romans and had been bribed by Marcus Popillius Lenas...
, who had been sent by Viriathus as an embassy to establish peace (Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
). These ambassadors returned to their camp and killed Viriathus while he was sleeping. Eutropius claims that when Viriathus' assassins asked Q. Servilius Caepio for their payment he answered that "it was never pleasing to the Romans, that a general should be killed by his own soldiers.", or in another version more common in modern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, "Rome does not pay traitors who kill their chief". Quintus Servilius Caepio was refused his Triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
by the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
.
After the death of Viriathus, the Lusitanians kept fighting under the leadership of Tantalus (Greek: Τάνταλος).
Laenas would finally give the Lusitanians the land they originally had asked for before the massacre. Nevertheless total pacification of Lusitania was only achieved under Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
. Under Roman rule
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, Lusitania and its people gradually acquired Roman culture and language
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Viriathus stands as the most successful leader in Iberia that ever opposed the Roman conquest. During the course of his campaigns he was only defeated in battle against the Romans once, and from a military standpoint can be said to have been one of the most successful generals to ever have opposed Rome's expansion anywhere in the world. Ultimately even the Romans recognized that it was more prudent to use treachery rather than open confrontation to defeat the Lusitanian uprising. Some fifty years later, the renegade Roman general, Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...
, at the head of another insurrection in Iberia
Sertorian War
The Sertorian War was a conflict of the Roman civil wars in which a coalition of Iberians and Romans fought against the representatives of the regime established by Sulla. It takes its name from Quintus Sertorius the main leader of the opposition to Sulla. The war lasted from 80 BC to 72 BC. The...
, would meet a similar fate.
Legacy
Viriathus became a long time symbol of Portuguese Nationality and Independence, being evocated and celebrated by artists and politicians throughout the centuries.See also
- LusitaniaLusitaniaLusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
- LusitaniansLusitaniansThe Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...
- Lusitanian languageLusitanian languageLusitanian was a paleohispanic language that apparently belonged to the Indo-European family. Its relationship to the Celtic languages of the Iberian Peninsula, either as a member, a cousin , or as a different branch of Indo-European, is debated. It is known from only five inscriptions, dated from...
- Lusitanian WarLusitanian WarThe Lusitanian War, called the Purinos Polemos , was a war of resistance fought between the advancing legions of the Roman Republic and the Lusitani tribes of Hispania Ulterior from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitani revolted on two separate occasions and were pacified...
- Timeline of Portuguese historyTimeline of Portuguese historyThis is a historical timeline of Portugal.*Timeline of Iberian prehistory*Pre-Roman Iberia *Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia *Germanic Kingdoms...
- Timeline of Iberian prehistory
- Pre-Roman Iberian history (before the 3rd century BC)Timeline of pre-Roman Iberian historyThis section of the timeline of Iberian history concerns events from before the Carthaginian conquests .-Bronze Age:*2nd millennium BC** c. 1800 BC – The El Argar civilization appears in Almería, south-east of Spain, replacing the earlier civilization of Los Millares. The adoption of bronze...
- Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia (3rd Century BC to 4th Century AC)Timeline of Portuguese history (Lusitania and Gallaecia)This is a historical timeline of Portugal.-3rd century BC:*237 BC - The Carthaginian General Hamilcar Barca enters Iberia with his armies through Gadir.*228 BC - Hamilcar Barca dies in battle...
- Punicus, Caisaros, Indibil Cauceno, Curio, Apuleio, Connoba and Mandonius were other indigenous leaders.
- Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian PeninsulaPre-Roman peoples of the Iberian PeninsulaThis is a list of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula .-Non-Indo-European:*Aquitanians**Aquitani**Autrigones - some consider them Celtic .**Caristii - some consider them Celtic ....